soft, smelly stool?

[alex17]

Tabitha is 6 1/2 weeks old and I have been feeding her Purina One kitten nutrition. When I first brought her home she had diarrhea but I thought that had stopped. I noticed today as I was cleaning up a missed litter box accident that her stool is still very soft. It is not runny and it even formed it is just very soft and it smells terrible.

Is this maybe still a part of her changing foods? The people I took her from were feeding her a cheap food and I somewhat rushed her for transitioning. But I feel like it's been long enough to where she should be normal on her current food. She's playing great and doesn't seem to have any tummy pain, yet has the soft stool. Just to mention she is drinking water multiple times a day and is eating really well too. Thoughts on this?

 

[roguethecat]

1. congratulations on your fairly new kitty!

2. thanks for trying to feed her well. Do you know if she had the smelly poop before you transitioned her?

3. I went briefly to look what's inside the Purina stuff, and had to completely agree with Tabitha here.

So all the veggies inside the food cannot be digested by her (she's an obligate carnivore, after all), which results in her intestinal bacteria having a party and, alas, the poop.

Now I bet you that you'll get a reduced odor with a canned brand that has minimal vegetables in it. (It's a marketing thing - they add them only for your sake, you know, because people think veggies are healthy and forget that cats cannot digest them).

Or, if you want completely odor free - go homemade/ raw 

 

 

[emandjee]

Hi Alex17,

Congratulations on your very new kitten!

This site may also help: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/weaning

This is my personal opinion, but I think young kittens like Tabitha needs extra nutrition, so feeding her good quality canned food (from Petco or your local, small independent pet store--not grocery stores or Walmart) is important, especially if she's having loose stools. A young kitty like Tabitha can quickly get dehydrated if her diet is soley dependent on dry food. Most wet canned food has approximately 78% max moisture, vs. kibble has about 10% max (check your packaging labels). I still normally add about 1 tablespoon of warm water to my 11 month's old wet food, lol.

Cats are descendents from desert creatures, so they just naturally have a very low thirst drive in general, unlike dogs. Seeing Tabitha drink frequently at the water bowl won't make up for the deficit she needs, unfortunately. I'm not saying you can never feed Tabitha kibble, but be informed and look up things when you can from reliable resources before you make a choice. One excellent resource is catinfo.org. Lots of things to learn from a feline-loving vet there!

Ok, so back to her smelly stool...does her belly look distented? Any gas? I'm wondering if Tabitha's been vet checked already? It's often common to find worms in kittens, so that's usually the cause. At the vet, they can check her weight, temperature, eyes (for goobers), ears (earmites), teeth and gums (for dehydration and confirm age), listen to her heart, lungs, and palpate her belly. If worms are suspect, a dewormer can be given at the vet's office, and you may also be given a second treatment for later. If the dewormer works, you'll see her stools improve and she'll gain weight much easier, too! 

All paws are crossed for Tabitha's well being! Hoping for less smelly litter boxes in the near future! 

 

[alex17]

Thanks for the replies. I was not aware that Purina One had so many vegetables in it.I didn't do the research I normally do with everything because that's what my other cat ate as a kitten and I liked how well he did on it. Purina is a brand I am comfortable with, but I'm going to go see what else my local pet stores have to offer and compare ingredients.

EmandJee, I agree with the idea about feeding kittens wet food versus dry.I got her some Purina One wet, but I got the chunks instead of the mushy (I was not really thinking about a little kitten at that time I suppose) and she was having a little trouble grabbing onto the wet food.I will be trying on the food again tonight though.

I have not yet brought Ezben ( I changed her name yet again. I'll decide sooner or later on a name :lol3: ) to a vet. I was waiting for her to settle in first, but now I have to wait until next Monday because of problems with work. I have been wondering if she has worms. The mom cat was an indoor/outdoor cat so she could have gotten one from mom. She does have a bit of a rounded out belly. When I get get to the vet I will ask her to test her for worms.

Something just occurred to me while I was thinking of the mom cat. Mom cat had no vaccinations. What could Ezben have gotten from mom because of that? Does she need to be tested for anything or will the standard kitten shots cover anything she could have gotten from mom?

 

[emandjee]

I think these links can help you if you haven't searched for answers yet:

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/vaccinations

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/258662/vaccines-for-kittens

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2143&aid=951

Most folks vaccinate young kittens and do a booster when they turn 1 year old. The rest becomes fuzzy; it's up to you on what you do, your state/country laws, whether your kitty will be indoor only or indoor/outdoor, risks of prevalent diseases in your area, etc....

Lots of things to consider but I'd do kitten vaccinations for sure. Also, asking your vet about what they do and what they personally do at their clinic is also good to know. Some vets opinions will vary too, depending especially if they own cats of their own, or from many years of experience.

Good luck with you and your kitty, whatever her final name will be!